Dance is the synchronization between the body, mind and the
music. The body moves in rhythm to the music being played and it can be used as
an expression, exercise or social interaction. Interestingly, dances are
performed by different animals to attract the opposite gender as well. Over the
period of time, dance has evolved and many different types have taken form.
This particular list will discuss ten of the most popular dance styles from all
around the world. Dancing is no easy thing; it is a profession, a profession
that is fairly hard to master. I am sure you will be familiar with some of the
styles, but this list discusses some dances from different cultures that are
probably new to you. Enjoy the read.
I am sure you know how this work. Special shoes are made for
dancing the tap. What you do is that you use the sound of your shoe hitting the
floor as a musical instrument. You can say that it is more like creating music
with your feet and dancing to it at the same time. It is very interestingly,
yet I figure it is really hard to learn. Rapid feet and leg movement is an
absolute requirement. The roots of tap dance go deep into the African American
dancing.
9. ADUMU
Adumu is one dance style I was absolutely oblivious to. It
is a Maasai dance that has originated from Africa.
Interestingly, this dance is mostly performed to human voice since the Maasai
did not encourage the use of drums during their festivals and other rituals.
All the body parts are used in this particular dance and even during a ritual
the dance is participatory. You can join if you want to or otherwise just look
at people doing an amazing job.
8. YANGKO
I am sure you probably never heard of this particular dance.
It originated from China
and happens to be a popular part of their culture. It involves swaying of the
body to certain rhythms. The waist and the hip are used to drive feet in order
to sync with the music. The dance has a one thousand year history in China and is
usually performed in the Lantern Festival. You can see a lot of videos on
YouTube concerning the dance. Yangko has changed since its inception and the
one that we see now happens to come from the late 1940s.
7. KATHAK
This happens to be one of the eight forms of classical dances
in India.
It originated in Utar Pradesh and can be traced back to the ancient people
living in northern India.
They were called Kathaks. After the sixteenth century, Kathak was influenced by
Persian Dance. The name of the dance is derived from Sanskrit which means
story. The classical dances can be compared to the ballet dances that I am sure
you are familiar with. These dances are very complicated and usually have a
meaning to them. Just like the name, they are supposed to tell some sort of a
story.
6. BHANGRA
Bhangra refers to a dance coming from the Punjabis in the
sub-continent. It was performed to celebrate the harvest but that practice
ended when the sub-continent was divided into Pakistan
and India.
It is originally developed in India
and it took its current form somewhere in the 1990s. Bhangra is danced to a
very specific kind of music specifically tailored for Bhangra. It is mostly
very random with some very common dance moves. This form of dance has travelled
to the western cultures as well because of a lot of movement from the
sub-continent to the western countries.
5. BELLY DANCE
This particular form of dancing originated from the Middle East, in an Arabic country. Every single part of
the body is involved in this dance style but the most dominant of those parts
is the hip. There are many different forms to this dance and it differs from
country to country. The modern belly dance evolved in the western countries and
it is popular globally. Belly dancing was popularized during the Romantic Movement
that took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The dance requires
a great deal of flexibility and is not at all easy.
4. BALLET
This is a performance dance and it originated in Italy during
the fifteenth century. The dance developed in France
and Russia
and evolved from performance dance to concert dance. It is a very complicated
form of dancing and is taught in different ballet schools all over the world.
The dance is usually choreographed with vocal or orchestral music. It involves
pointe work, flow and very precise acrobatic movements. The ballet went from
romantic, to expressionist and neoclassical ballet. The word originally
translates into ‘to dance’.
3. STREET DANCE
This form of dance is formally known as vernacular dance. It
involves a lot of improvisation and these dances originated outside of dance
studios wherever there was space available; streets, parks, school yards and
nightclubs. Break dance is also included in street dancing and it is said it
originated in the New York City.
Another form is Melbourne Shuffle that originated in Australia
and Electro Dance which has its root in Paris,
France. It
involves impossible body movements as you might have seen in the movie series
‘Step Up’. It is very difficult to master.
2. IRISH DANCE
As the name suggests, the style originated from Ireland. It is
a group and is a part of a broader social activity. There are many different
forms of this dance; of course I will not be getting into details. Although you
should know that it was popularized in 1994 with Riverdance; you can find the
clips on YouTube. It involves very fast leg and foot movements while your arms
mostly stay stationary. It is very difficult to master especially the solo
dances. The dance is performed with traditional Irish music.
1. SALSA
This particular dance style comes from Cuba and it
originated in the 1920s. Salsa is usually danced to the salsa music although
most people perform the steps with Latin American music as well. Salsa requires
a couple, although you can choreograph it as a form of line dance in which a
partner might not be necessary. You can perform salsa as an improvisation but
generally it is choreographed. This dance style is very popular throughout the
Latin America and over time it spread through North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle
East.
Source : http://www.smashinglists.com
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